did anyone read the books that were written about what happened after the original trilogy?i read some in junior high. i remember really enjoying them. Han and Leia have twins that have the Force. i think Luke begins to train Jedi (what's the correct plural of Jedi?). i think Luke also married another Jedi named Mara Jade. there was a pretty cool bad guy that liked art a lot and his fate was pretty cool.......maybe i need to reread them sometime

Every now and then, someone tries to stir up a new rumor about a future trilogy of Star Wars films, and none of them ever turns out to be true, and we're going to go out on a limb here and say this one's also bogus.

Marketsaw is reporting that George Lucas is gearing up a 3-D trilogy:

I have been hearing rumblings ... extremely quiet at first, but now heating up significantly and from a trusted source—that George Lucas is preparing to unleash another STAR WARS trilogy upon us, this time in stereoscopic 3D. This is NOT the TV series, these are brand spankin' new 3D STAR WARS movies.

Yes, the pending 2D to 3D conversions of his six existing STAR WARS properties are still a go as 3D theaters are approaching 3000 (5000 is the number Lucas wants). No word on when this work will be completed. ...

Lucas will be producing and NOT directing these new episodes apparently! Could Steven Spielberg be tapped to direct a STAR WARS movie after all? Yes according to a trusted source of mine! Further, Francis Ford Coppola was mentioned too as a possible director for a future film!

We're going to say it flat out. This is SO not true. We don't believe it for a second. And we're willing to have egg on our faces if it does turn out to be true, but of course we're confident it's not true. Spielberg? Coppola? Really?

Here's Marketsaw's reasoning for why Lucas would trouble himself to climb off his mattress stuffed with $100 bills:

I could see Lucas getting a little jealous over a successful launch of AVATAR - jealous because it is a fully articulated universe, like his. And if he doesn't act on it - his franchise may well be relegated to a back seat as potentially the records will start falling to Pandora.

“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

BREAKING….Disney has just confirmed that it has agreed to acquire George Lucas‘ Lucasfilm Ltd, and that includes rights to the Star Wars franchise. The companies have also targeted a 2015 release for Star Wars: Episode 7 and plan future movies based on the movies’ most iconic franchises. The stock and cash transaction is worth an estimated $4.05 billion, and the companies have scheduled a conference call in a half-hour to discuss the deal, which was approved by the Disney board and Lucas, the sole Lucasfilm shareholder.

As for the new Star Wars installment, the companies only would say that Lucasfilm co-chairman Kathleen Kennedy would be executive producer on Episode 7 and any more Star Wars movies, and Lucas would serve as creative consultant. There was no indication about where the story would pick up, though technically in the franchise’s chronology it would follow Star Wars: Episode 6 — Return Of The Jedi, the third film in the initial trilogy that came out in 1983.

As part of the deal, Kennedy will become president of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn. Additionally she will serve as the brand manager for Star Wars, whose feature films have earned a total of $4.4 billion in global box to date. And that doesn’t even take into account the franchise’s massive merchandising clout.

“Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas,” said Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger in a release announcing the deal. “This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney’s unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value.”

Disney is paying approximately half of the consideration in cash and issuing approximately 40 million shares at closing based on Disney’s stock price on October 26. Lucasfilm is 100% owned by Lucasfilm chairman and founder Lucas.

“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” said Lucas. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I’m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney’s reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products.”

Lucasfilm’s businesses include live-action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects, and audio postproduction. Disney also acquires the technologies from the San Francisco-based company, which operates under the names Lucasfilm Ltd., LucasArts, Industrial Light + Magic, and Skywalker Sound.

“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

Wow. This is huge. I know the attention is naturally going to be on the future of Star Wars, but once the dust settles it will be interesting to see what happens with Skywalker Ranch as a place for filmmakers - as well as how/if Lucas gives back to the film-making community after such a windfall. It seems only right that Disney bought up Lucasfilm though, especially with the ties to Pixar both companies have. Looking forward to devouring more information on this over the coming days and weeks.

He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

It's very strange, because he's transitioning from control freak to total removal of himself from what he built. I guess it's an all or nothing kind of thing. Very conflicted man. I bet it's like a huge weight off his shoulders. I respect it on one hand, after seeing a lot of fanedits of the new trilogy (something that I'm sure he's done himself) you can clearly see that the heart of star wars is a lot stronger in those people who wanted to try and rejuvenate to an earlier spirit of the cannon. George obviously lost touch with why he made those films, redletter illustrated it the best. So while it's a cash grab (4 billion) I still think it's better than anything else that could happen. I honestly wonder if George faced reality and watched ep. 1-3 and saw what millions had been saying.

Now disney owning it is another issue, if they give it to john lassetor or many of the pixar guys, i'm sure they'd kill with the material.

Nolan wrote the screenplay for the latest Superman reboot. But at least according to IMDB there's nothing else on his plate in pre/post production. Maybe it's a longshot but it could be pretty terrific if they got him attached to these new Star Wars films. That's really the only thing which would get me up for them. As kooky as these latest 3 Star Wars prequels were, they were still George Lucas movies. Hate em or love em. For someone else to step in and take it in a new direction, it needs bold direction.

'Star Wars' plan in worksDisney's purchase of Lucasfilm has fans rattling lightsabers over new movies, already in talks.Source: Los Angeles Times

Disney's plans to make a trio of "Star Wars" movies has set off a frenzy of speculation over what that series will look like. But even as fans offer their emotional reactions to the news of the movies — and their pleas for who should direct them — the die is already being cast.

In the months before Disney announced it would acquire "Star Wars" studio Lucasfilm, several different screenwriters paid visits to Lucasfilm's Northern California compound to pitch George Lucas and his co-chair Kathleen Kennedy their ideas for the new live-action installment, the series' seventh, according to a person familiar with the talks who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about them. The screenwriters were pitching ideas for a new story, not ones adapted from existing "Star Wars" books.

The person did not reveal the identities of the people who had met with Lucas and Kennedy but said they were well-known screenwriters with experience creating big-budget Hollywood films. A spokeswoman for Lucasfilm on Wednesday did not return a call seeking comment.

On Tuesday, Disney announced that it would spend $4.05 billion to acquire Lucasfilm and continue the "Star Wars" saga, which to date has yielded six live-action movies and $4.31 billion in worldwide box office. The most recent, "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith," came out in 2005 and, despite a critical mauling, became the second highest-grossing movie of the franchise (not adjusting for inflation).

That movie, along with two other prequels, created a filmgoer backlash, satisfying some fans but leaving many longing for more visionary filmmaking. That has led to a tension between fans over the direction of the series, with many reacting to Tuesday's news online by saying that the franchise needs a wholesale reinvention (or not to be touched at all), while others expressed their desire that the franchise continue in its recent directions.

The first of the new films is set to come out in 2015, with two more movies following approximately in 2017 and 2019, Disney executives said. Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo told analysts there was already a "treatment" for the movies but did not specify whether that came from Lucas or an outside writer.

The announcement prompted speculation over who might direct the movies. Perhaps the most bandied-about name among fans, Christopher Nolan, also seems like a long shot. Though he made his "Batman" films at Warner Bros. under Alan Horn, who now runs Disney, the director has a long-standing relationship with Warners that could make a jump to Disney awkward. He also has expressed his interest in not concentrating on reboots of tentpole-style projects at this stage of his career.

Whatever direction they move in, Disney and Lucasfilm will need to move fast. A 2015 release target means that significant development progress would need to happen in 2013, and many of the industry's splashiest genre names — including J.J. Abrams and Joss Whedon — have a dance card filled with new movies.

A Disney home for "Star Wars" is a shift for the franchise, which since its inception in 1977 has never fully resided at a studio. (20th Century Fox distributed the live-action films but did not have large amounts of creative input.) Still, some Hollywood insiders contacted by The Times noted that Disney has been relatively hands-off in its other recent acquisitions. It has, for instance, allowed Pixar chief John Lasseter and Marvel production head Kevin Feige wide berth in shaping their movies.

Horn also has a reputation as a filmmaker-friendly executive who creatively stayed more hands-off than some of his rivals. "I don't think Disney will be a deterrent for anyone," said a representative of several top directors who has worked both with Horn and Disney.

Disney does have a mixed record when it comes to sci-fi epics, and in recent years has stumbled badly under the regime preceding Horn's. The flops included "Mars Needs Moms" and "John Carter." "Tron: Legacy" was only a mediocre performer.

What creative direction the story takes remains to be seen. The story of lightsabers and storm troopers reached a natural conclusion in 1983's "Return of the Jedi" with the confrontation between Luke Skywalker and his father Darth Vader. The movie was the final film, chronologically, in a six-movie arc telling the story of Anakin Skywalker, who would become Darth Vader.

A host of tie-in books have also been written, with the most fundamental among them regarded as "Star Wars canon," a phrase that highlights the religious aura around the franchise. Author Timothy Zahn penned a sequel trilogy of books that are considered part of this canon; in its first installment, set five years after "Return of the Jedi," Luke Skywalker and company rebuild as a new evil emerges. But the new movies will likely not be taking their cues from those novels.

Lucas, 68, will not be directing the film, instead serving in the more nebulous role of "consultant." Historically, Lucas has kept tight reins on the "Star Wars" movies and brand, overseeing even minute production and licensing details.

But he intimated in a statement that the sale to Disney was part of a process of stepping back. "I've always believed that 'Star Wars' could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime," he said.

Lucas' recent hiring of Kennedy to run Lucasfilm could be seen as part of that transition process; Kennedy is a veteran Hollywood producer who has a history of working with decorated directors such as David Fincher and Steven Spielberg (she produced this fall's awards contender "Lincoln").

While the prospect of taking over one of Hollywood's most sacred franchises would be daunting for big-name filmmakers — particularly if Lucas sought to keep a strong hand in it — these filmmakers might be encouraged by the fact that the most recent movies were not well-received by fans, setting the bar lower.

The news of a new series of films is a reversal for Lucas, who has long expressed the belief that the saga would not continue past the six live-action films that had previously been made. At a news conference for "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" in 1999, Lucas said he did not want to continue the series. "I will not do VII, VIII and IX," he said then. He added that no one else will make the movies either. "This is it. This is all there is," he said.

“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

Over the past seven years, Collider’s track record has been pretty good. The reason is, before we run any “scoop,” we always make sure to double source it so we know the information is accurate. However, the story we are about to run has not been confirmed, and I want to make sure everyone knows this is not 100%. I only decided to run this because I trust my sources and it’s Star Wars. In addition, while I spent all weekend trying to lock this story down, all my normal connections would not go on record (or they did not know), so this is going up as a “rumor” and “unconfirmed.”

Now that I’ve warned you this is just a “rumor”….

I’m hearing that Matthew Vaughn, the director of Kick-Ass, Stardust, Layer Cake, and X-Men: First Class, is in talks with Lucasfilm to helm Star Wars: Episode VII. My sources tell me this is the main reason he dropped out of the X-Men sequel (which Bryan Singer is now directing).

As most of you know, last week Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion dollars and they also announced a 2015 release date for Star Wars: Episode VII. Seconds after the deal was announced, a bunch of interviews were released featuring Disney CEO Bob Iger and George Lucas talking about the business deal, and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and Lucas discussing Star Wars: Episode VII and revealing that they’ve already met with writers for the new film. It was clear that this deal has been in the works for awhile.

As such, it makes a lot of sense that while we only just heard this news, behind-the-scenes Lucasfilm has been working hard to land a director to helm the new installment.

Now you have to ask yourself, why would Vaughn abruptly drop out of helming the X-Men sequel when the head of 20th Century Fox (Tom Rothman) is leaving the studio? After all, while Rothman helped make some great movies over the past few years, he’s also known as a micro-manager that can rub some filmmakers the wrong way. With Rothman out, I imagine Vaughn would have had more creative control on the sequel and it would have been an easier film to make.

While many of you might be wondering if Vaughn can handle directing a Star Wars movie, I really think he’s a great choice. After all, he made a fantastic X-Men movie that successfully rebooted the franchise, his work with a limited budget on Kick-Ass was also great, and Stardust proved he can make one hell of an adventure film.

In addition, Vaughn is a writer. He worked on the scripts for X-Men: First Class, The Debt, Stardust and Kick-Ass (with Jane Goldman) so if he ends up directing Star Wars, we’d also be getting someone that could solve script issues on set. It’d be great if he could convince Goldman to come onboard as well.

So is Vaughn lining up to direct the full new trilogy or just the first film? I have no idea. But I’d imagine if this deal does happen, it would be similar to the one Marc Webb has on Spider-Man, which is they’ll do it on a film by film basis, with the assumption that if the first film is a success and he wants to come back, he could.

Anyway, as I have already said many times, for now Vaughn directing Star Wars is just a “rumor.” I’d imagine after this posts, it’ll either be confirmed or it will blow up in my face. I’m hoping it’s true.

This is the most excited I’ve been for Star Wars since 1998 and I honestly cannot wait to see the new movie in 2015. What about you?

“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

Informed sources tell Vulture that Star Wars: Episode VII has found a leading candidate to write the film’s screenplay: Michael Arndt, the Pixar favorite who was nominated for an Oscar for Toy Story 3, won an Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine, and wrote The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which is currently shooting. Insiders confirm that Arndt has written a 40- to 50-page treatment for the film and is likely to be at least one of the writers when the Disney/Lucasfilm project begins shooting in 2014.

The merger between George Lucas’s brainchild and Disney, announced October 30, caught the town by surprise. And talent agents were similarly astonished to learn that Arndt had been at work on the treatment long before the deal was announced, catching them flat-footed and cutting off any chance they’d have to proffer their own many eager candidates for the coveted job.

Sources also tell Vulture that the studio’s brass want to bring back the three central characters of the original Star Wars: a much older Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo. No deals are in place with any of the original actors, though our source did say it had high ambitions to sign up Mark Hamill, and EW recently reported that Harrison Ford was open to the idea of returning. We're told that Arndt's 40-something page treatment will soon be crossing the desks of top directors, including Brad Bird, Steven Spielberg (the former producing partner of Lucasfilm co-chair Kathleen Kennedy), and J.J. Abrams. Whether they’d be interested is unknown (Star Wars is a lot of baggage for an established director), but Disney wants to make sure they’ve at least tried the biggest names.

A representative for Arndt declined to comment, referring all calls to Kennedy, who did not return a call seeking comment at deadline. A Lucasfilm spokeswoman declined to comment, saying, "We have no news to report at this time."

The choice of Arndt to pen a treatment makes perfect sense, given both his prestige as a screenwriter and his close relationship with Disney’s equally secretive Pixar — he’s the screenwriter of the cheekily titled Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside the Mind for Up director Pete Docter, currently in preproduction — but there’s one more reason still that Arndt would be so appealing to Disney and Lucasfilm: He’s a Star Wars expert.

Since winning the Oscar for Sunshine, Arndt has lectured extensively on the art of storytelling at numerous writers’ retreats, like the Hawaii Writers Conference in Maui and the Austin Film Festival, always featuring a lengthy and detailed explanation of why the original Star Wars’ ending is so creatively satisfying.

At these talks, Arndt always tells attendees that Star Wars’ enduring appeal has to do with resolving its protagonists goals’ nearly simultaneously, at the climax of the movie. In the comments section of a discussion about a Star Wars talk Arndt gave at the Austin Film Festival in 2010, one attendee of the seminar notes, "Arndt stated that if a writer could resolve the story's arcs (internal, external, philosophical) immediately after the Moment of Despair at the climax, he or she would deliver the Insanely Great Ending and put the audience in a euphoric state. The faster it could happen, the better. By [Arndt’s] reckoning, George Lucas hit those three marks at the climax of Star Wars within a space of 22 seconds."

Indeed, in the third act of Star Wars, as Arndt explained to his young screenwriting Padawans at the 2009 Hawaii Writers Conference, its central characters' main goals all are met on pages 89 through 91 of the original Lucas script: At the crescendo of Star Wars, a spectral Obi Wan urges, “Use the Force, Luke,” and he does, thus reaching his inner goal (fighting self-doubt to become a hero). Han Solo reappears (meeting the philosophical goal of overcoming selfishness with altruism) to shoot down Darth Vader, which allows Luke to use the Force to mentally guide his shot and blow up the Death Star (outer goal and inner goals simultaneously met).

So while it remains to be seen whether Arndt will forge ahead with an entire script for Episode VII, clearly, as Vader might say, “The Force is strong with this one.”

“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol